Scottish first minister backs justice secretary amid threat of no confidence vote in grooming gangs row

John Swinney is facing calls to sack his justness secretary, with the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour vowing to bring a ballot of nary assurance against her amid claims she "brazenly misrepresented" a starring kid maltreatment expert.

However, the archetypal curate is lasting by MSP Angela Constance successful the aftermath of comments she made astir Professor Alexis Jay.

During First Minister's Questions connected Thursday, Scottish Tory person Russell Findlay insisted Ms Constance had breached the ministerial code.

He said: "If John Swinney won't sack the justness secretary, we volition springiness parliament the accidental to person its accidental with a ballot of nary confidence."

Scottish Labour person Anas Sarwar accused Mr Swinney of "defending the indefensible" arsenic helium excessively urged him to sack his "untrustworthy and incompetent" justness secretary.

Mr Sarwar said: "This greeting I person lodged a question of nary assurance successful justness caput Angela Constance.

"It is wide that she misrepresented Professor Alexis Jay connected an contented arsenic superior arsenic grooming gangs and misled this parliament.

"She has had repeated opportunities to apologise and close the record, but has failed to bash so.

"It is present wide that she cannot enactment successful her position. She indispensable resign, oregon John Swinney indispensable sack her."

When she rejected calls for an enquiry into grooming gangs successful September, Ms Constance told MSPs Prof Jay agreed with her that specified a probe was not needed.

But emails made nationalist by the Scottish authorities connected Wednesday revealed the prof - who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation successful Rotherham successful 2014 - aboriginal contacted Ms Constance to accidental she would "appreciate" her presumption "being clarified".

Prof Jay added that her comments quoted by Ms Constance astatine Holyrood had "nothing to do" with the concern successful Scotland.

Mr Findlay accused Ms Constance of having "twisted a connection astir England to contradict victims an enquiry present successful Scotland".

He said: "The justness caput brazenly misrepresented a starring kid maltreatment adept successful bid to artifact a grooming pack enquiry successful Scotland.

"The justness caput misrepresented an expert, past denied doing truthful erstwhile asked by journalists."

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He said Ms Constance has failed to close Holyrood's authoritative record, adding she has "not adjacent apologised".

Mr Findlay stated: "Why isn't it evident to John Swinney that she has breached the ministerial code?"

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Scottish authorities orders reappraisal of grooming gangs evidence

Mr Swinney claimed Ms Constance "was making a wide comment" connected the concern erstwhile MSPs debated the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ms Constance's remarks were a "reflection of the wide comments that were being made connected the issues astatine that time", helium added.

The SNP person said his authorities is "taking guardant the indispensable enactment which is indispensable to marque a judgement astir whether a abstracted grooming gangs enquiry is required".

He explained this is needed arsenic "the presumption that has been expressed to america is that the grounds basal is not capable to instrumentality specified a determination astatine this time".

He besides said the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which the authorities established successful 2015 to analyse maltreatment successful attraction settings, could besides see issues linked to grooming.

The archetypal curate stressed the "government has to instrumentality attraction to marque definite we decently respect the autarkic enquiry we person established by statute, which has the powerfulness to look astatine galore of these issues".

The Scottish Liberal Democrats aboriginal said they would ballot against Ms Constance if a nary assurance statement is held.

Party person Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "We don't person assurance successful Angela Constance to proceed arsenic justness secretary.

"Sometimes successful authorities radical get things wrong, but the decent happening to bash is beryllium upfront erstwhile that happens.

"After misrepresenting a respected expert, Angela Constance should person apologised to Professor Alexis Jay and been consecutive with parliament. She didn't, truthful this is simply a messiness of her ain creation."